Bérénice by Jean Racine
**Overview of "Bérénice" by Jean Racine**
"Bérénice" is a 1670 tragedy by the renowned French playwright Jean Racine, set in the context of ancient Rome following the death of Emperor Vespasian. The play revolves around the complex emotional dynamics between three main characters: Titus, the new emperor, Bérénice, the queen of Palestine, and Antiochus, Titus's close friend and Bérénice's unrequited admirer. As rumors swirl about Titus's impending marriage to Bérénice, the narrative explores themes of love, duty, and sacrifice. Antiochus, who harbors deep feelings for Bérénice, struggles with the reality of her potential marriage to his friend, leading to a poignant farewell that reveals the emotional turmoil each character faces.
The tension escalates as Titus grapples with the expectations of the Roman people, who are unlikely to accept Bérénice as empress due to her foreign status. Despite his love for her, Titus feels compelled to prioritize his responsibilities over personal desires. As the story unfolds, Bérénice's passionate declarations of love clash with the harsh realities imposed by duty, culminating in a dramatic confrontation that tests loyalty, love, and personal sacrifice. The play concludes with a heart-wrenching acceptance of fate, leaving the characters irrevocably changed. Racine's "Bérénice" is celebrated for its emotional depth and exploration of the conflict between personal happiness and societal obligations.
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Bérénice by Jean Racine
First produced: 1670; first published, 1671 (English translation, 1676)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of plot: 79 c.e.
Locale: Rome
Principal characters
Titus , the emperor of RomeBérénice , the queen of PalestineAntiochus , the king of ComagenePaulin , Titus’s confidantArsace , Antiochus’s friend and confidantPhénice , Bérénice’s confidant
The Story:
The period of official mourning for the Emperor Vespasian ends. His son Titus is to succeed to the throne, and the rumor is that he will marry Bérénice, the queen of Palestine, with whom he was long in love. Antiochus, the war companion of Titus and a close friend, is also Bérénice’s faithful friend. Although he was in love with her for five years, she never responded to his feeling.
Antiochus, who hopes that Titus will not marry Bérénice, goes to see her for the last time before he leaves Rome. He gives orders to his confidant Arsace to prepare everything for his departure. Arsace is surprised that Antiochus is preparing to leave when Titus is rising to great honor and will, in all probability, want his friend close by.
Bérénice, confident that the rumor of her marriage with Titus is true, is expecting a confirmation at any moment. When Antiochus appears to bid her farewell, she cruelly reproaches him for declaring his love at that time. She declares that she enjoyed his friendship and is depending on him to stay as a witness to her happiness.
Titus, aware that his love for Bérénice is a cause of concern to the Roman Empire, asks Paulin, a faithful confidant, his opinion of the emperor’s suit. Paulin says frankly that the court will approve anything Titus might do, but that the Roman people will never be willing to have Bérénice as their empress. Although Titus realizes this fact only too well, he tries desperately to cling to his hope that somehow he can make her his wife without arousing public indignation and protest. Meanwhile, he sends for Antiochus and asks him to take Bérénice back to her own country.
When Bérénice arrives, full of love and joy and believing that she will soon marry Titus, the emperor, unable to tell her the truth, blames his father’s death for the restrictions imposed upon him. She misunderstands him, however, and with all her passion reaffirms her love, saying that he can never miss his father as she will miss him if he does not love her. Overwhelmed, Titus finds it impossible to tell her that he cannot make her his empress.
Left alone with Phénice, Bérénice shows some concern over Titus’s actions and speech. Then, remembering that Titus is to see Antiochus, she imagines that he is jealous of Antiochus and therefore really in love with her, and that soon everything will be all right.
When Antiochus arrives, Titus asks him to talk to Bérénice in his place, as a friend, and to assure her that Titus is sacrificing their love only out of the demands of duty. Left alone with Arsace, Antiochus does not know whether to rejoice for himself or grieve for his friend. Although his heart is filled with renewed hope, he does not want to be the one to tell Bérénice of Titus’s decision. In spite of his reluctance Bérénice persuades him to reveal what Titus told him. On hearing his story she refuses to believe him and says that she will see Titus herself. In a painful interview she declares that she will kill herself. Paulin has a difficult time keeping Titus from following her when she leaves. Antiochus, alarmed, comes to beg Titus to save her life.
Titus meets with the representatives of the senate. Meanwhile, he asks Antiochus to reassure Bérénice of his love. Arsace comes looking for Antiochus with the news that Bérénice, about to leave Rome, wrote a letter to Titus. Antiochus announces that he is going to commit suicide and leaves. Bérénice, coming out of her apartment, meets Titus and tells him she is leaving immediately. When Titus declares that he loves her now more than ever, she pleads with him to show mercy and love her less when he orders her to leave. He finds the letter, which announces her decision to die since she cannot stay with him. Saying that he cannot let her go, he calls for Antiochus. When Bérénice collapses, Titus, in despair, assures her that he loves her to such a degree that he is willing to give up the empire for her sake, even though he knows that she will be ashamed of him if he would do so. If she will not promise to stay alive, he declares, he will kill himself. When Antiochus arrives, Titus tells him to be a witness to how weak love makes his friend. Antiochus replies that he always loved Bérénice and that he was preparing to commit suicide when Titus called him back.
Moved by so much grief on all sides, Bérénice accepts Titus’s decision. Leaving, she asks Antiochus to pattern his decision on theirs. The three go their different ways.
Bibliography
Abraham, Claude. Jean Racine. Boston: Twayne, 1977. An excellent general introduction to Racine’s plays, as well as an annotated bibliography of important critical studies. Examines the psychological depth of Bérénice and develops the not totally convincing argument that Bérénice is a “self-centered” and “arrogant” character.
Barthes, Roland. On Racine. Translated by Richard Howard. New York: Hill & Wang, 1964. Examines the importance of love, violence, and heroism in Racine’s tragedies. Argues persuasively that Bérénice is consumed by her love for Titus, whereas the emperor is unwilling to accept the dominance of passion in his life.
Campbell, John. Questioning Racinian Tragedy. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Analyzes individual tragedies, including Bérénice, and questions if Racine’s plays have common themes and techniques that constitute a unified concept of “Racinian tragedy.”
Cloonan, William J. Racine’s Theatre: The Politics of Love. University, Miss.: Romance Monographs, 1977. Examines the political motivation for Titus’s decision not to marry Bérénice and suggests that the emperor no longer loves Bérénice as passionately as he once did. Argues that Bérénice is a much more sympathetic character than Titus.
Knapp, Bettina L. Jean Racine: Mythos and Renewal in Modern Theater. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1971. Contains a fascinating Jungian interpretation of Racine’s tragedies. Describes the extraordinary psychological complexity of Titus and Bérénice.
Racevskis, Roland. Tragic Passages: Jean Racine’s Art of the Threshold. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2008. Examines Bérénice and Racine’s other secular tragedies, demonstrating how these works construct space, time, and identity. Argues that the characters in these plays are in various stages of limbo, suspended between the self and the other, onstage and offstage, life and death, and the plays emphasize this predicament of being “in-between.”
Weinberg, Bernard. The Art of Jean Racine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Analyzes the evolution of Racine’s skill as a tragic playwright. The chapter on Bérénice explores the evocative power of Racine’s refined verse and his artistry in using a simple plot.